How Crocheting Miniature Marios Helped Me

By Kelie NegronQuailBellMagazine.comThe world moves fast, so fast that it got to the point for me where I was having trouble deciphering left from right, up from down, even sometimes wrong from right. The constant change was discombobulating and I needed something to hang onto for comfort, a “wooby,” if you will, appropriate for the “adult” mind I was supposed to have upstairs. I needed something to help me re-orient myself and get me to slow down. I was growing up too fast, sprinting through this race, and heading for the ultimate crash and burn. I needed something to bring me to that pleasant jogging pace where the burn of air rushing into my lungs could be replaced with the pleasant smells of flowers carried on the cool breeze. I was only a college student, too young to burn out already. These were the experiences I was supposed to remember forever, not rush through.

My instinct was to look back on childhood and remember the love-worn baby blanket my grandmother had crocheted for me. The combination of warmth, fuzz, and softness created some sort of magic. No matter how hard I tried to fight, when tucked in with that blanket, I would fall asleep in no time. Somehow it was able to keep me, a virtual buzzing ball of energy, in place long enough for sleep to take over and then whisk me off to that dream world where anything is possible. It was that wonderful escape I craved.

At first I turned to movies and TV, even video games and books, but all of these had one problem: they ended, and then I had to sit and wait for the sequels. I would then be left back in that same spot where I’d begun with no distractions from life’s quick turning wheel, feeling the future rushing towards me. Sitting and waiting has never been something I was good at and so instead of helping me, it ended up hurting. These were all great ways to take a time-out from the rush of life, however I found myself wishing for time to go faster in the end, after each cliff-hanging page of a novel or season finale of my favorite show.

That was when I first discovered Amigurumi. Using the same ancient technology my grandmother once drew on to make my baby blanket, people were making figures of their favorite pop culture icons. According to M. E. Williams’ article Amigurumi Knitting Tutorial (Plus Free Patterns!), “an amigurumi (ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) is a crocheted or knitted stuffed doll.” So instead of warm mittens and afghans, people were making amigurumi in the forms of their favorite Pokémon and Nintendo characters. What better way is there to fill the between-times of release dates than bringing your favorite characters from imagination to reality?

This was just what I needed. With a hook and some yarn I was suddenly able to take the images in my head and make them real. The amigurumi provide that same fuzzy, nostalgic comfort of my old baby blanket yet with a twist of imagination that lets me feel like a kid again.

Even though time moves on in one direction and I still have to walk the paces, I was able to give my imagination a way to stretch and reach out and create a solid tether to the various imaginary worlds I have visited in games and movies, etc. These dolls are a constant reminder of the less serious things in life, helping to give the real world a softer edge.

So now, when I trip over a rock in the road of life, instead of hard concrete being there to scratch up my knees and palms, these little amigurumi are there to cushion the blow.